RADIO TOURING FROM AN ARTIST EXPERIENCE- By Eli Budwill | Member of Northern Heights (country band from Alberta)

Indie Connectors has provided you with a couple of articles on radio tours from a programmers perspective.This week, we are going to hear an artist's personal experience.​Eli Budwill from Northern Heights shares his stories from their national radio tour.

Born in Edmonton and raised in Red Deer, Eli Budwill is an Alberta boy through and through. His musical accolades began as early as high school when he joined a band and took to the stage performing shows as well as recording songs. The band was awarded third place in Battle Of The Bands two years in a row. After graduating, he turned his passion for music into a reality, studying performing arts in New York City. Through training and hard work he was soon singing, dancing and acting in performances and tours such as "Bye Bye Birdie", "Oklahoma” and more across North America, showcasing both on and off Broadway. In order to pursue his first passion, music, he subsequently formed "Run Romeo Run", a pop punk band which showcased at Canadian Music Week and can still be heard on CBC Radio2.

Following the demise of the band, Eli continued writing and, in 2015, joined forces as lead singer with guitarist Chad McMonagle in a new project called "Northern Heights". The duo spent the summer on a radio tour across Canada promoting the release of their first single "Small Town Getaway" which has been receiving airplay on over 40 country radio stations from coast to coast.Eli’s most recent accomplishments and performances bring out his Alberta roots with a high-energy country pop/rock sound, full of fun and with the message of freedom and power encouraging his listeners to believe in themselves and be the masters of their own universe. He continues to share his passion for music on and off the stage and is currently working on new songs for recording and upcoming shows.

Going across the country instead of focusing on the West Coast

When Chad and I started Northern Heights we had a room and an idea. Our main focus was to write some new tunes and learn some new cover songs. As we continued, we started throwing around the idea that we should write a really solid radio single and push it really hard to get our name out there. And then pretty much repeat the process of releasing singles to keep building our fan base and repertoire of songs.

We wrote for six months trying to find the right sound, the sound that would set the stage for us. It took us awhile to get into the studio we wanted to work with, but we had the songs and were both eager to get in and record. When we got into the studio it was worth the wait. They took our first release ‘Small Town Getaway’ and made it into something that we were both really happy about.

​It was the owner of the studio and producers who suggested the idea of going across the country instead of just focusing on a west coast tour and so, with the CCMA's in Halifax coming up, we decided to end our tour there. Once "Small Town Get Away" was done, it was time to get the promo together. We worked with a radio tracking company out of Toronto who did great work for us and helped us set up our radio tour.

Now that you have a brief history on how we got started here’s what we thought went well and here are some things we would do differently: The tour itself was an adventure to say the least.

We rushed!

We were set up for a six-week cross-Canada tour. Our promo budget was in place for gas, lodging and any other band related costs. We camped mostly, only having a few nights in hotels because of bad weather or because we arrived to a town at an ungodly hour exhausted and in need of sleep. With our song only being released to radio for eight days and Northern Heights being introduced at the same time, radio stations didn't really get the chance to listen to our song or take it into meetings prior to us being there.

​We jumped the gun so to speak, not giving the song time to build. That being said, most music directors and people we talked to were delighted to have us there and said what we were doing was a very good idea. They said we are showing the industry that we weren’t just throwing a single out there but that we cared and wanted to build a relationship with radio across Canada.

All sorts of interviews

Our interviews came in all different shapes and sizes. Sometimes we would pull up and be welcomed with excitement while others seemed to be confused as to why we were there.​Often that was just because of a small glitch in communication and it wasn’t a big deal. We were usually able to talk to the person we were there to see and even if they weren't ready for us or they were on air, we would talk behind the scenes just to get to know one another.

There were different types of interviews. We did podcast interviews, video interviews and live-to-air.Some were played at a later date and/or they would post it on their social media page. This was always uplifting.

Music directors and DJs would see that we came a long way and really cared about our project so they would often take the time and give us a little love. Some interviews were more scripted and generic and there’s nothing wrong with that, it keeps things to the point and clean. Then there were some standout interviews where people knew we were coming and they really took the time to research and read our bio, asking us very candid questions about our lives and really who we were as people. They would ask about the strain it put on relationships that we left behind. Also how we handled being in the same proximity with the same person for such a long time. For instance our cat went nutty because we were gone, wrecked stuff, didn't eat and got sick.

It was great when we went to interviews and the people interviewing us really wanted to get to know us. It made sleeping in the rain and driving 17 hours worth it. Sometimes when having multiple interviews a day you would pull in and be worn out from driving all day and singing all day.

But whatever version of interview we had, we made sure that people got a taste of who we are. We would remind ourselves that people are taking time out of their schedule to listen to us. So you bring your best at all times. One lesson learned though, if you want to be successful at a morning interview don't go to a Blue Jays game the night before...just saying!

We should have pushed harder!

The tour took us coast to coast in six weeks, starting in the west and heading east with a final destination at the CCMA's in Halifax, N.S.

Six weeks, however, could have been condensed into four.We kind of rushed into the tour and didn't fill the back end of it so we sat for a few days. We should have packed more stops and pushed harder over a shorter period to save time and money. And the weekends were free unless we had to travel a long distance.

Overall, what we really wanted and were hoping for was an early July release date and a mid-August tour start date. This would have given the song a month to breathe and in the ears of the people we were going to see. Also, giving stations time to find a spot for it if they wanted to add it. Having a month’s cushion would have also given us more time to prepare and map out our stops, making the whole process more efficient.

​These are some of the things that we would consider and plan better for on our next tour, making it a more streamlined process. We would maybe even try to throw in some shows, try to play at county fairs or maybe some bar gigs along the way.

Conclusion: We will do it again

I would definitely do a radio tour again. It was a fun time and it helped get our single out there.We were able to see the country in a cool way and meet a lot of nice people along the way. You help put a face to the song and radio people, for the most part, are happy to have visitors.

It also gave our band great social media exposure and the radio stations got their faces all over our social media pages. In this cyber world we live in, exposure at all times is a good thing.

My experience was a good one and we had a lot of fun chasing summer in a Toyota Matrix getting the opportunity to see our awesome country in the name of country.

I hope our next single is received well and we can do another radio tour next summer. I would do it again in a heartbeat taking the knowledge that I learned from the last trip and make the next one twice as exciting and successful.